Charleston County鈥檚 tons of daily garbage end up at the Bees Ferry Landfill in West Ashley, where a nearly $19 million project could soon be underway to quadruple the landfill鈥檚 capacity and extend the number of years until it鈥檚 essentially full.
Every year about 200,000 tons of waste are hauled to the landfill, and there鈥檚 only room left for about one million tons more 鈥� five years鈥� capacity. The county doesn鈥檛 have a second landfill, but has been looking for a potential site.
Preparing the last of six permitted 鈥渃ells鈥� at the landfill 鈥� the highly engineered spaces where waste goes 鈥� and refurbishing an existing one will add capacity for another three million tons, said Thomas Cue, the county鈥檚 director of environmental management. 鈥淲ith the new project coming, with that put in, we鈥檒l have right around 20 years鈥� until the landfill runs out of space, Cue said. He hopes that eventually, new emerging waste management alternatives and practices will eliminate the need for a second landfill.